Sunday will mark the 10th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Brookhaven. Started by Rose Powell of Polly’s on Main Street, the parade transferred to the leadership of the Brookhaven/Lincoln County chapter of the NAACP’s in 2001.

This year’s parade marshal will be Charles Kennedy, a Brookhaven man who was wounded in 1950 during a North Korean assault on a U.S. occupied position in the country. Joining the NAACP in hosting the event is CAFÉ-A+ (Community Action Fostering Education), and Community Action Group of Brookhaven, Inc.

President of the NAACP’s local branch, Bernetta M. Character said city officials, notable people from the community and the 601 Bikers Club are expected to be there.

Along with organizations from the community Character said the “community as a whole is invited to participate in the parade.”

Character said 2014’s parade included more than 50 vehicles having grown from the year before.

“I’m hoping it continues to grow more each year,” Character said.

The parade will begin at 3 p.m. with line-up starting at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting point, on the corner of East Minnesota Street and First Street. The parade will end at Alexander Junior High School where a later program will be held sponsored by the Mu Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

Annual MLK Celebration

The program, themed “Dr. King’s Dream: Is It Alive Today?” will feature keynote speaker, Dr. James Bernard Hall who practices Nephrology in the city at the clinic Anointed Nephrology and Hypertension. The program begins at 6 p.m. at the Alexander Junior High School Auditorium. A reception will immediately follow the program.

Dr. Hall, from Magnolia, graduated valedictorian from South Pike High School in 1991. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a member of the Honors College and received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry. After attending University of Mississippi Medical Center and receiving a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2002 he completed his three-year residency in internal medicine at University Hospital. Having also completed a two-year fellowship in nephrology, Dr. hall is board certified in Internal medicine and in Nephrology.

Dr. Hall married his high school sweetheart, Joy Simmons, in 2004, and they have two sons, Matthew and Jordan. They attend Pleasant Ridge Pentecostal Church in Brookhaven. He is a member of the American Medical Association, Renal Physicians Association and MS Shine Project. Dr. Hall published “Screening for CKD in the Ambulatory HIV Population” in the Clinical Nephrology journal. His special interests are preventive nephrology and HIV related kidney disease. Dr. Hall’s outside interests include motivational speaking, bass fishing, deer hunting, and biking.

Community Organization Profiles

The NAACP ensures the political, education, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and seeks to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

CAFÉ-A+ is a non-profit organization committed to improving the condition of underserved citizens in Brookhaven and surrounding areas. Their goals include helping provide elementary age services, and teen and adult programs in order to help people restore themselves as caring and productive human beings.

Community Action Group of Brookhaven Inc. is an organization whose primary ambition is to promote and enhance community morale, welfare and recreation and to give all members of the community a better quality of life. Their mission states they want to be the voice of the speechless and the hope for struggling and under privileged.